Cultural differences...

[simonc]

Hi all, a couple of doors down from my office is a Sports Bar/Pub which I sometimes pop into for a swifty after work. Anyway, last week I saw this large Tiger Beer POS display unit outside, and was quite surprised by the T&Cs for the promotion.
Here's the POS board outside the bar.

And here's the T&Cs for the promo.

Just goes to show the differences that do exist out here. I'm sure nothing like that could get printed and displayed in the UK, Europe, Australia or the US.
Just thought you'd be interested to see it. Regards, Si.

[NafemanNathan]

I wouldn't rule out the U.S. just yet

[simonc]

Ha ha, oh yeah, watch out, watch out, there's a Donald about.

[lewd lude lover]

Muslims cant drink beer, i imagine the winners will have to do a photo shoot with a bottle of the stuff in hand. Hence, muslims need not apply. Fair enough to make it clear at the start. Like if the prize is a free hire car to drive across the usa non licence holders cant enter.

[NafemanNathan]

They're not supposed to, but they do. Much like how a lot of Christians pick and choose which bits of their religion they want to abide by.

[Brozilla]

They're not supposed to, but they do. Much like how a lot of Christians pick and choose which bits of their religion they want to abide by.

NIce. take that, grandmother!

[lewd lude lover]

They're not supposed to, but they do. Much like how a lot of Christians pick and choose which bits of their religion they want to abide by.

Agree but 'bad' muslims are playing with fire, literally. If they want to take the chance of annoying the great sky wizard enough to punish them for all eternity in fire and a lack of virgins thats their problem. In a marketing reality the beer company probably doesn't want the PR hassle of imaging muslims chilling with a beer and the inevitable religious bum droppings storm that would produce. Like a meat companies competition probably doesn't want to image a vegan. Bad for business.

[Donald]

As others have mentioned, there are 'good' and 'bad' Muslims. We're lucky that in the west law and religion are largely discrete, whereas in the east there is some blurring, as you well know. I guess it gets more complicated in places like Malaysia where there is the dual system. I guess from a legal point of view, if a company encourages breaking Sharia law, then it's probably breaking it itself as well.

As Nafe says, there are bits that can be selectively adhered to.

Just for completeness, the Quran doesn't mention alcohol directly at all, only 'khamr' referring to intoxicants. So if intoxicants could be extended in definition to mean anything that might alter your judgement, for example aphrodisiacs, you could twist the word of Allah to make asparagus and oysters haram. Then again, depending on your school of belief, shellfish range from haram to halal anyway. In reference to what we would nowadays interpret as meaning alcohol, the Quran in ranges from it being forbidden only in places of worship, to forbidden if it clouds your judgement, to entirely forbidden, depending on how far and in what order you read it. Then there is the mention of dates, from which you can derive an alcoholic drink, being totally fine to consume (drink and food) as you can gain 'great knowledge and wisdom'. I think you can however consume alcohol and 'intoxicating' substances, so long as you do not become intoxicated. For example, if alcohol is used in a cooking process or a technical alcohol is found in a medicine or used medicinally (you can use ethanol to displace glycerol if someone poisons you with antifreeze is one case).

It's all a bit complicated really.

[lewd lude lover]

As Nafe says, there are bits that can be selectively adhered to.

It's all a bit complicated really.

Cherry picking 101.

[simonc]

You're right guys. There's cases more or less every week of muslim men and women caught drinking. It's more prevalent in certain states where the tolerance for those 'miscreants' is less, generally in the east of Malaysia. There's always a big hoo-ha in the media, public naming and shaming, slammed by the local religious head, but after a few days it all dies down and is quietly forgotten.
@Donald, you raise a good point because, there are certain prescription drugs that are forbidden to muslims because of the alcohol content or animal parts they're derived from. The 'Halal' approved branding is on just about everything these days, from soap to crisps, prescription drugs as well as OTC medicines like paracetamol. I guess the most striking example of this drive to rid Malaysia of anything resembling alcohol, is good old mouthwash. Last year, the mouthwash brands (Listerine, Plax etc) began nationwide ATL ad campaigns, showcasing that their product contained no alcohol whatsoever.
Must be costing them a bloody fortune, as they're still running TV slots, outdoor boards and newspaper full page ads to this day.